Water-heater



No. 624mm Panama May I6, I899. F. sonnz & n. c. McCLURE.

WATER HEATER.

(Application filed July 14, 1898.)

(No Model.)

THE Noam: FUERS cov PHOTO-LUNG. WASHINDYON, D c.

Nl'lED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. BORNE AND RICHARD O; MCOLURE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

WATER-H EATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,903, dated May 16, 1899.

Application filed July 14,1898. Serial No. 685,902. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN F. BORNE and RICHARD C. MCCLURE, citizens of the United States, and residents of Buffalo, int-he county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Water- Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to. that class of water-heaters which are used more particularly in dwellings and which consist of a boiler or reservoir, a gas-burner arranged below the boiler for heating its contents, a valve controlling the supply of gas to the burner, and a thermostat or expansible rod which governs said valve and which is controlled by the temperature of the water in the boiler.

One of the objects of our invention is to so construct the apparatus that a considerable area of the thermostatic rod is exposed to the incoming cold water, thereby causing said rod to respond promptly to changes in the temperature of the water and quickly reheating the water to the proper normal temperature.

Our invention has the further objects to render the parts of the apparatus easy of access and convenient of adjustment, to provide the apparatus with a reliable pilot-light which burns only when the main flame is extinguished, so as to save gas and prevent overheating of the water, and, finally, to provide the boiler with simple means for retarding the escape of the products of combustion and compelling the same to circulate around the boiler for effectually heating it.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of our improved waterheater. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the valve which controls the pilot-light, the valve facing in the reverse direction from that shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections in lines 3 3 and 44, Fig. 1, respectively. Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of the stem of the main gas-valve and its actuating-lever, the plane of the section being at right angles to Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A is the water reservoir or boiler, and B is a jacket or casing inclosing the boiler and extending a short distance below the same to form a fire or flame chamber 0 underneath tion arranged below the boiler.

the boiler, this chamber being provided with a door 0.

D is a gas-burner of any ordinary construc- The jacket B is somewhat larger in diameter than the boiler, so as to leave an annular passage 6 between the boiler and the jacket for the products of combustion, which latter escape intothe chimney through a pipe or flue 6, leading from the closed top of the jacket.

f f f 2 f represent horizontal baffle-plates, rings, or diaphragms arranged at intervals in the annular passage between the boiler and the jacket and extending across said space. Each of these rings or diaphragms is provided with an opening f for the upward passage of the products of combustion, and the openings of the rings are. arranged alternately on opposite sides of the boiler, so that the products of combustion cannot escape upwardly directly into the flue 6., but are compelled to circulate around the boiler in a spiral or winding course from the bottom to the top thereof, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, whereby all portions of the boiler are exposed to the heat.

The water in the boiler is caused to circulate through an external circulating-pipe composed of short upright sections 9 9, connected with the top and the bottom of the boiler, horizontal sections g 9 extending laterally from said upright sections, and a long up right section g, which is connected with the outer ends of said horizontal sections by el= bows or fittings g g".

h is the hot-water-discharge pipe. of the upper vertical section g and its main vertical section g and 'i is the cold-water-supply pipe, which is connected with said upper horizontal section between said check-valve and the main upright section 9 The check-valve z' is arranged to open toward the main section 9 of the circulating-pipe, so that it permits the water in the boiler and the cold water entering through the pipe t to circulate downwardly through the circulating-pipe, but prevents such incoming cold water from flowing directly into the top of the boiler, thereby compelling this cold water to pass from the top to the bottom of the main section of the circulating-pipe before entering the boiler.

J is the gas-supply pipe of the main burner, which preferably extends vertically along the outer side of the casing B, and J is the regulating or cut-off valve arranged in this pipe and controlling the supply of gas to the burner. This Valve closes downwardly against its seat, and its stem j extends upwardly through a stuiling-box at the upper end of its case.

j is a spring surrounding said valve-stem between a fixed collar j on the stem and said stuffing-box and tending to open the gas- Valve.

K is an expansible or thermostatic rod which is arranged lengthwise within the main upright section g of the water-circulating pipe and which controls the opening and closing movements of the gas-valve J. This rod is fixed at its lower end to the lower fitting g of the circulating-pipe, so that the same expands upwardly, and its free upper portion extends through a stuffing-box at the upper end of the upper fitting g of said pipe. The movements of the thermostatic rod are transmitted to the gas-valve J by an intermediate horizontal lever L, one arm of which is engaged by the free upper end of the rod, while its other arm engages with the stem of the gas-valve in such manner that when the thermostatic rod expands by a rise in the temperature of the water in the circulatingpipe it swings the short arm of the lever upwardly, thereby depressing its long arm and closing the gas-valve more or less while when the rod contracts by a fall in the temperature of the water in the circulating-pipe the rod allows the spring j to react and vibrate the lever in the reverse direction for opening said valve, thereby diminishing or increasing the gas-supply accordingly. In order to insure an easy workingof this lever, the thermostatic rod and the stem of the gasvalve are provided with forked or bifurcated upper ends which loosely embrace the arms of the lever, as shown in Fig. 5. The lever is fulcrumed upon an upright rod or stem Z, which is preferably made vertically adj ustable in a standard M,having an upright socket, in which the stem is secured by a set-screw m. This standard is supported on a bracket or armprojecting laterally from the upper fitting m of the gas supply pipe J, the standard being preferably made laterally adjustable on the bracket by means of a collar formed at the lower end of the standard and embracing the bracket and having a set-screw m as shown in Fig. 1. By making the fulcrum of the lever laterally adjustable the lever permits of this lateral adjustment of the standard M.

The gas-supply pipe J and the lever L are preferably supported mainly from the adjacent main section 9 of the water-circulating pipe by a tie or bracket, preferably composed of fittings n 'n, embracing said pipes, respectively, and a solid rod 41 connecting said fittings. This bracket is connected with the circulating-pipe near its lower end, where little or no expansion or contraction of the circulating pipe takes place, thereby preventing the automatic regulating devices of the gas -valve from being affected by this means of support. The upper portions of the watercirculating and the gas-supply pipes are tied together by a clamp or brace 0, preferably composed of two bars connected together by bolts 0 and having opposing half sockets or collars 0 which embrace the pipes, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The inner socket of this clamp loosely surrounds the water-circulatin g pipe to permit the latter to expand and contract without restraint.

By introducing the cold water at the upper end of the circulating-pipe and extending the thermostatic rod from end to end of this pipe the rod is exposed throughout its length to the incoming cold water and caused to contract promptly, thereby effecting a full opening of the gas-valve and quickly restoring the water in the boiler to its normal temperature, andby interposing the check-valve t' between the hot-water outlet h of the boiler and the cold-water inlet 2" this desirable result is accomplished without chilling the hot water in the top of the boiler.

P is a small supplemental burner or pilotlight for igniting the main burner. This pilot-light is arranged in close proximity to the main burner and is adapted to go out after it lights the main burner and to be ignited by the expiring flame of the main burner when the gas-supply to the latter is shut off. The supply-pipe p of this pilot-burner is connected with the main gas-supply pipe J, outside of or on the inlet side of the automatic gas-regulating valve J, and is provided with an automatic valve 19, which is adapted to check the passage of the gas to the pilotburner when the main burner is ignited and to permit the passage of the gas to the pilotburner when the supply to the main burner is shut off. The automatic valve 19 may be held against its seat by gravity, but it is preferably provided with a spring 19 for this purpose. The resistance of this valve is such that when a full or normal supply of gas is allowed to pass to the main burner said valve overcomes the reduced gas-pressure in the main supply-pipe and prevents the passage of the gas to the pilot-burner, and so that the resistance of the valve is overcome by the gas-pressure and the gas allowed to pass to the pilot-burner when the full gas-pressure is exerted against said valve by the complete or nearly complete closing of the main regulating-valve J. This result is satisfactorily accomplished by making the valve 10 of such weight or exerting upon it such a springpressure that its resistance is about one ounce less than the prevailing gas-pressure. By this construction when the gas-supply to the main burner is gradually cut off by the expansion of the thermostatic rod K the gaspressure opens the valve of the pilot-burner just before the main burner is extinguished,

permitting gas to escape to the pilot-burner andigniting the same from the expiring flame of the main burner, while when the gas is again allowed to pass to the main burner by the contraction of the thermostatic rod the valve of the pilot-burner overcomes the diminished gas-pressure and gradually cuts off the gas from the pilot-burner and the main burner is ignited from the expiring flame of the pilot-burner. .It will thus be seen that the pilot-light does notburn continuously, but only during the time that the main burner is extinguished, whereby a saving in gas is effected and the danger of overheating the boiler is obviated.

The spring 29 of the check-valve p is preferably provided with means for changing its tension, so that the resistance of the valve with reference to the gas-pressure can be readily regulated. In the construction shown in the drawings the valve is arranged to open upwardly and the spring surrounds the valvestem between the head of the valve and a stuffing box or gland 17 ad justably arranged in the top of the valve-case, as shown in Fig. 2. The gas-supply pipe of the pilot-burner is preferably supported near its upper end by the clamp 0, and near its lower end by a bracket q, connected with the main gaspipe J.

WVe claim as our invention- 1. The combination with a boiler or reservoir and an external circulating-pipe connected with the upper and lower portions thereof, of a cold-water inlet connected with said circulating-pipe, a check-valve arranged in said circulating-pipe between said coldwater pipe and the upper portion of the boiler, a gas-burner for heating said boiler, asupplypipe for said burner having a regulatingvalve, and a thermostatic'rod or member arranged in said circulating-pipe and controlling said regulating-valve, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a thermostatic rod or member, of a valve, a lever for transmitting motion from the thermostatic rod to the valve, said lever being loosely engaged with the thermostatic rod or member and the stem of said valve, and a spring for holding the arms of the lever in engagement with the valve-stem and the thermostatic member,sub-. stantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a boiler or reservoir, a main'gas-burner and its supply-pipe, of a pilot-light or supplemental burner arranged adjacent to the main burner and. having a supply-pipe connected with the supplypipe of the main burner, and an automatic valve arranged in the supply-pipe of the pilotlight and operating to prevent the fiow of gas to the pilot-light when the gas is allowed to pass to the main burner and to permit the passage of gas to the pilot-light when the gas supply is shut off from the main burner, substantially as set forth.

' 4. The combination with a boiler or reservoir and a main gas-burner, of a supply-pipe for said burner having a regulating-valve, a pilot-light or supplemental burner arranged adjacent to said main burner and having a supply-pipe which is connectedwith the supply-pipe of the main burner on the outer or inlet side of said regulating-valve, and an automatic check-valve arranged in the supplypipe of the pilot-light, the resistance of said automatic valve exceeding the gas-pressure in said main supply-pipe when said regulating-valve is open, but being less-than the gas pressure when said regulating-valveis closed, substantially as set forth.

Witness ourhands this 9th day of July,1898.

JOHN F. BORNE. RICHARD C. MQOLURE. 

